Week 7 Rankings (2013) – Top 25 Quarterbacks

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

We are six weeks into the season and have gotten a good idea of who is worth using and who should be avoided most weeks. Obviously injuries (like in Atlanta) and matchups (like for Tom Brady this week) are going to downgrade some quarterbacks, so let’s take a look at how our rankings currently look:

Peyton Manning – Denver Broncos – at Indianapolis

Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Denver

Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys – at Philadelphia

Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears – at Washington

Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Cleveland

Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – vs. St. Louis

Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – at Jacksonville

Robert Griffin III – Washington Redskins – vs. Chicago

Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – vs. Cincinnati

Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at New York Jets

Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Tampa Bay

Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – at Arizona

Nick Foles – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. Dallas

Eli Manning – New York Giants – vs. Minnesota

Colin Kaepernick – San Francisco 49ers – at Tennessee

Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – at Detroit

Brandon Weeden – Cleveland Browns – at Green Bay

Chad Henne – Jacksonville Jaguars – vs. San Diego

Mike Glennon – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Atlanta

Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins – vs. Buffalo

Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. Baltimore

Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – at Pittsburgh

Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams – at Carolina

Alex Smith – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Houston

Geno Smith – New York Jets – vs. New England

Thoughts:

Tony Romo has a favorable matchup, though he’s actually now been under 250 yards in three of the past four games (170 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT against the Redskins in Week 6). Is anyone not going to trust him, however? He has the weapons and the Eagles have allowed 314.5 passing yards per game, as well as 13 TD. With Demarco Murray banged up as well, Romo should be in line for a big day.

With Green Bay’s receiving corps banged up there are going to be questions surrounding Aaron Rodgers this week. Of course, we all know that he can still make plays and generate plenty of fantasy points. Maybe he gets downgraded slightly depending on who plays and who sits, but he’s still going to be a Top 5 option.

While Robert Griffin didn’t throw a touchdown in Week 6, he did run for 77 yards showing that he still can make things happen on the ground. That adds significant upside to his value and is a must use option in all formats.

Cam Newton has 3 passing TD and 1 rushing TD in two of his past three games. With another favorable matchup (St. Louis has allowed 11 passing TD on the season), he’s well worth using in all formats.

It has been a strong season for Jay Cutler (1,630 yards, 12 TD) and facing the Redskins should help him further improve those numbers. Washington is in the bottom ten in the league in passing defense, allowing 271.6 yards per game and 10 TD, while managing just 3 INT. That’s always the biggest question with Cutler, and if we aren’t scared of that there’s no reason to think that he won’t thrive.

Tom Brady has one passing touchdown in the past two games. Really?!?!? With the Rob Gronkowski drama continuing to rage on, it’s hard to count on Brady as anything but a low-end option against a tougher Jets defense. Is he still a QB1? Absolutely, but not a must use one.

Will it be Nick Foles or Michael Vick? Time will tell, but whoever it is has a favorable matchup and well worth considering, depending on your alternative, in all formats.

Eli Manning has a favorable matchup and, despite being a turnover machine, has put up some decent numbers this season (1,721 passing yards). Is it hard to trust him? Absolutely, but it’s hard to consider him anything but a high-end QB2.

Mike Glennon had a much better second game, throwing for 273 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT against the Eagles. With Atlanta being a favorable option (12 passing TD allowed), he’s well worth considering as a QB2.

20 comments

In my 12/team standard league, I have literally 7 RBs, but have been hoping to trade one rather than drop. I offered Andre Johnson and McGahee for Damaryius Thomas. What are your thoughts? My other RBs are McCoy, Forte, Miller, Stacy, Tate, and Bryce Brown (handcuff). My other WRs are Garçon, Gordon and Kenbrell Thompkins.

Also, for my other league, I’ve got Garçon, Gordon, James Jones, and Steve Smith. Would you drop Smith for Keenan Allen, Hakeem Nicks, or Reuben Randle? The last two intrigue me in the event Nicks is traded.

Thanks, the only other players I could drop would be James Jones (but I think if healthy, he’d benefit from the Cobb injury) or David Wilson. Would you drop either? I kinda like having 5 RBs… We can only have 5 RBs and 4 WRs, or vice versa…and it’s a standard league.

I am at ab bad point at QB. I traded for Vick a couple weeks before he got hurt(I did get Knowshon in the trade though). Also, Pryor, my backup, is on bye. I can go either Josh Freeman or Ryan Tannehill.

At flex, would you go Brandon Jacobs, Joseph Randle, or Andre Ellington?

The FLEX is a toss up between Jacobs and Randle. I guess I would lean Jacobs, but it could go either way.

As for the QB, it’s another toss up. Depends on if you are a gambler and your teams standing. At this point I would say Freeman has te higher upside given the matchup, but Tannehill is safer. So, which way do you want to play it? Go safe, or go high risk,might reward